Brooklyn Nets Player On His Way to Scoring Philippine Citizenship

Brooklyn Nets center Andray Blatche (L) drives to the basket as Miami Heat forward Chris Andersen (R) defends during the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs at American Airlines Arena on May 6.

Steve Mitchell-USA Today Sports

An American basketball pro from New York is on his way to becoming a Philippine citizen, a move that would allow him to play for the national team in the upcoming world basketball championships in Spain.

The Philippine Senate passed a special bill Monday that would grant Filipino citizenship to Andray Blatche, a wide-bodied center for the Brooklyn Nets.

The Philippines’ national team, Gilas Pilipinas, has been courting the nine-year National Basketball Association veteran to play in this year’s International Basketball Federation (FIBA) World Cup. It wants to see him replace Marcus Douthit, an American basketball player naturalized in 2011 to boost the men’s team’s firepower.

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Senator Juan Edgardo Angara, an avid basketball fan and the main sponsor of the bill, said granting citizenship to Mr. Blatche, who had earlier expressed willingness to play for the Philippines, gives the national team a fighting chance to make it to the elimination round of the World Cup.

The bill was passed by 20 senators on Monday with no objections. The House of Representatives passed its version of the naturalization bill last month. There are 24 senators but only 20 were present during Monday’s deliberations; only a majority vote is needed to pass the bill.

Brooklyn Nets center Andray Blatche dunks against Miami Heat center Chris Bosh (1) and forward James Jones (22) and guard Ray Allen (34) in game four of the second round of the 2014 NBA Playoffs.

Noah K. Murray-USA Today Sports

Mr. Angara said the final version of the bill will soon be sent to President Benigno Aquino III for his signature. If the president doesn’t sign the naturalization law, it lapses into law within 30 days from Congress’ submission.

FIBA has set a July 15 deadline for countries to submit proof of citizenship of naturalized players.

Mr. Douthit is currently the only naturalized player on the national team. He helped the Philippines win second place in the FIBA Asia Championship last August, which allowed it to secure one of three spots reserved for Asian teams in this year’s World Cup.

But Mr. Douthit, who is 34, missed the championship game after injuring his leg in the semifinals against South Korea. Gilas Philipinas lost its final game to Iran.

FIBA rules only allow one naturalized player per team, so if Mr. Blatche’s papers are approved on time and FIBA qualifies him, then Mr. Douthit may be held as reserve player.

“We took a leap of faith when we naturalized Marcus Douthit, and that leap of faith paid dividends. We are hoping this would be a similar case with Andray Blatche,” said Mr. Angara.

The Philippines is proud of its basketball traditions, but it also hasn’t let patriotism get in the way of improving its team lineups. The Philippines has also granted citizenship to three other American basketball pros – Jeff Moore, Dennis Still and Chip Engelland, now an assistant coach for the San Antonio Spurs.

The last time the Philippines was on the world basketball stage was in 1978, when the country hosted the FIBA World Championships. As host, the Philippines was automatically given a slot in the eight-team semifinal round, along with then defending champion the Soviet Union. The Philippines lost all of its games in the semifinal round, and ended up in last place.

Getting through the first round of this year’s world championships, where the top four teams will advance after a single round robin competition, will be a tall order.

The Philippines is bracketed in Group B, which includes 2004 Olympic basketball gold medalist Argentina, 2006 FIBA World Championship runner-up Greece, Puerto Rico, Croatia and Senegal – the only team in the group with a lower FIBA ranking than the Philippines at No. 41. The Philippines is ranked 34th.

The games begin in Sevilla, the fourth largest city in Spain, on August 30.

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